Adjustable and detachable shoulder strap for corselets, brassieres, and slips



J. N. HULTZ Oct. 19 1926.

ADJUSTABLE AND DETACHABLE SHOULDER STRAP FOR CORSELETS BHASSIERES, AND SLIPS Filed April 15, 1926 R O T N E V N Ell I1503,91 ti. OFFICE,

JULIA N. HULTZ, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

WS'IIJE AND DETACHABLE SHOULDER STRAP FOR CORSELETS, BRASSIERES,

AND SLIPS.

Application filed April 15, 1926. Serial No. 102,102.

My invention relates to a new and useful supporting device and its adjuncts whereby womens wearing apparel, and particularly ladies underwear, commonly known as lingerie, may be, suspended in a comfortable and adjustable manner.

My invention further relates more par,- ticularly to an adjustable, detachable shoulder strap ada ted to be used by ladies for the purpose 0 supporting underwear, such as camisoles, chemises, corselets, brassieres,

slips, and the like, so that the same may be adjustably suspended and supported. in proper position at all times, and wherein means are provided for readily changing the shoulder straps and for concealing the terminals of said shoulder straps.

lit is well known that a shoulder strap, being more exposed and in contact with the skin or body of the user, is liable to get wrinkled and soiled and to lose its tresh and clean appearance much more quickly than the corresponding undergarment 0t which it forms a part, and as it is generally clearly visible through the thin material of the outer dress, it renders it necessary to change such undergarment more often than is really necessary for the purposes oi .cleanliness or hygiene. By my novel invention, it eliminate the necessity of changing such underwear, whenever only the shoulder strap supporting the same becomes wrinkled, creased or slightly soiled, from perspiration or otherwise, since my detachable shoulder strap can be quickly and easily removed and replaced, whenever necessary, without the troublesome and tim consuming process of ripping such strap apart from the main body portion of such undergarment to which it is stitched and then sew-,

ing on a new one in lieu thereof, thus saving a great amount of time I and trouble and maintaining at the same time a clean and fresh appearance of the visible or partly visible portions of the garment.

lit is also well known that the shoulder strap tends to wear out much more quickly than the corresponding undergarment, thus rendering it necessary to either prematurely discard such undergarment or else to go through the troublesome and time consuming operation of ripping oil" such strap and sewing on a new one in lieu thereof. By my novel invention, it 18 possible to use more than one strap or ribbon of difierent desired colors for each article of underwear, thus lengthening the life of such undergarment considerably, since the same can thus be used until it is completely Worn out, thus effecting a great saving in expense and in the labor of replacement of said straps.

Another advantage of mynovel detachable shoulder strap is that a ditlerent shoulquiring an extensive line of underwear oi different shades to match each and every outer dress material. By using a detachable shoulder strap of high quality fabric, it is also possible for the wearer to use undergarments of cheaper material, thus giving the impression that such corresponding undergarment also is made of the same high grade material as that from which such shoulder strap is made. So also when it is desired to change an outer dress, it is merely necessary to remove the particular shoulder strap and to replace the same by one which will match the material of such outer dress and which at the same time has a clean and fresh appearance, all of which can be accomplished'by my invention in a minimum amount of time and with but very little labour and without the necessity of completely undressing or otherwise disturbine" the rest of the wearing apparel on the body.

' My novel detachable shoulder strap is further capable of being adjusmd to any desired length or height, thus enabling the adjustment ot" the undergarment to any desired height regardless of the height ot the person using the same and regardless oi the length of such undergarment per se, and in -manner not possible in the case of shoulder straps heretofore known and used, and in addition ll provide means -tor securing the strap terminals, so that they are concealed or invisiblehwhen in use.

With the above ends in view, my invention consists of an elongated shoulder strap, of anydesired textile "fabric, such as silk, ribbon or the'lilze and at any suitable dimentill sions, adapted to engage the shoulders of the user and serve as a support from which an undergarment can be adjustably suspended and the ends of the straps concealed. The respective front and rear end portions of the elongated shoulder strap are passed through and clamped by corresponding pairs of buckles permanently secured to the corselets, brassieres, or slips of any desired fabric, which straps are in turn secured in spaced relation to each other on the upper periphery of the front and rear portions respectively of an undergarment thus affording an ad justable and detachable means for supporting the same.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention I have shown in the accompanying drawings one form thereof which is at present preferred by me, since the same has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that my invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of the instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1, represents a perspective view of a pair of detachable shoulder straps and their adjuncts embodying my invention, showing also the position they assume on the body of the wearer or user.

Figure 2, represents a longitudinal section, on an enlarged scale, of my novel detachable shoulder strap, showing also the manner in which the front and rear ends thereof respectively are adjustably secured with respect to each other, and to the upper front and rear periphery of an undergarment.

Figure 3, represents a perspective view on an enlarged scale of a buckle of my novel construction.

Figure 4, represents a section on line 44 of Figure 3. FFigure 5, represents a top planview of Referring to the drawings, in which like reference characters indicate like parts, 1 designates an undergarment such as corselets, brassieres and slips or other underwear commonly worn by ladies to the upper front and rear peripheral portions of which respectively are secured in a permanent manner, the buckles 4, which are adapted adjustably to receive and clamp the respective ends of the detachable shoulder straps 12 as will be described morein detail hereinafter. Each buckle 4 consists of the body portion or front wall 6 of any suitable size preferably stamped out of sheet metal, the terminals of WhlCh are bent substantially at a right angle to said front wall 6 to form the supporting arms or side walls 7, which latter are provided with the holes or bearings 15 adapted to receive the trunnions or pivot points 9 of the angular clamping member 8, thus pivotally securing said clamping member between said side walls. The clamping member 8 is preferably, stamped out of any suitable sheet metal and comprises the top member 16 having the slot 11 therein, and the pendant member 17 having the holes 14 therein. The top member 16 has the serrated clamping edge 10, which is adapted to coact with the front wall 6, adjustably to clamp and retain the detachable shoulder strap therebetween. Through the slot 11, the free end 13 of the strap 12 may be passed which assumes the position seen in Figs. 1 and 2, and is held in place directly behind the shoulder strap and is pressed thereby against the body when said strap is adjusted to the desired length, thereby concealing said free end 13 from view and giving my novel device a neat and tidy ap pearance, as will be apparent from Fig. 1. The holes 14 permit the buckles to be permanently secured to. the top of the corselet, brassiere or slip by means of the stitches 5,

'or by riveting or other means.

When it is desired to use my novel detachable shoulder strap, it is merely necessary to pass the end 13 thereof between the front wall 6 and the serrated edge 10 of the clamping member 8, when the latter is in the open position seen in Fig. 4. The clamping member 8 is then closed or turned into the operative, clamping position seen in Figs. 1, 3 and 5. The free end 13 of strap 12 is then passed upwardly through the slot 11 in the clamping member 8 and deflected downwardly where it is securely held and concealed, as seen in Fig. 2. I

It is obvious that each undergarment carries four buckles 4, said buckles being disposed in aligning pairs and in spaced relation to each other on the front and rear portions respectively of the undergarment, thus providing means of attachment for each of the two shoulder straps at both the rear and front ends thereof respectively in the manner described.

When for any reason it becomes necessary to -raise or lower the undergarment equipped with my novel detachable shoulder straps it is merely necessary to turn the clamping member 8 out of its operative clamping position, with respect to the front wall 6 into the position seen in Fig. 4 thus releasing the strap 12, whereupon the latter can be adjusted to the desired length or height, after which the clamping member 8 is again. locked upon the strap, ing the latter firmly in the new sition, all of which can be with very little time and effort and without any disarra-ngement or disturbance of any other wearing apparel on the body.

adjusted poaccomplished thus clamp- 1 lfll lin detachable shoulder straps known and used heretofore, it has been the practice to secure the buckles or other fastening or clamping devices to the respective ends of the detachable shoulder strap and not to the body portion of the undergarment as is the case in my invention. By permanently securing the buckles, or other fastening devices to the undergarment, instead of the ends of the shoulder strap, ll avoid the inconvenience of having the buckle on the strap whenever it is desired to launder the same, which as hereinabove pointed out ordinarily requires more frequent laundering than the corresponding undergarment. Moreover, since one of the objects of my invention, is to avoid washing the undergarment more than is necessary, and at the same time to lengthen the life of the same by enabling the user to have different pairs or sets of the detachable shoulder straps for each undergarment, it is evident that by securing the buckles or' other fastening devices to the undergarment instead of to the shoulder strap, 1 reduce the total number of buckles, and merely require the necessary number of the detachable shoulder straps as plain pieces of ribbon which are extremely easy to replace, adjust and launder.

It is further evident that when the buckles or other fastening devices are attached to the respective ends of the detachable shoulder strap as has been the practice heretofore, it is only possible to adjust the length of such shoulder stra between certain fixed limits, to wit: the s oulder strap can be reduced to but about one half of its total length. By securing the buckles or clamping means to the undergarments, the shoulder strap can be adjusted to any fraction of the total length thereof, so that the same strap can be used by a child as well as by a full grown erson, and with a short skirt as well as a bug skirt, thus rendering the manufacture of such straps much less expensive, since but a few standard sizes will be sufficient to fultill the needs of the trade. 7

lit will now be apparent that l have devised a novel and useful adjustable and detachable shoulder strap for corselets, brassieres, etc., which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the 1. ln a device of the character stated, the

combination of an undergarment, clamping devices, each provided with a slotted, looking member the latter being directly secured to the front and rear of said garment, a shoulder strap comprising a ribbon having its free ends passed through said front and rear clamping devices and locked therein, said ends being then deflected upwardly through the slots of said clamping devices and retained in position between said undergarment and the body of the wearer.

2. In a device of the character stated, an undergarment, an aligning pair of adjust able fastening devices permanently secured to the front and rear thereof respectively, and a detachable shoulder strap, having its ends adjustably and detachably secured in said fastening devices, each of the latter comprising a front plate, a pivot plate piv oted in said front plate, and having a clamping edge coacting with said front plate adjustably to clamp said shoulder strap therebetween, said pivot plate having a slot therein to receive the upturned free end of said detachable shoulder strap;

3. ln a device of the character stated, the combination of a shoulder strap, fastening devices, each comprising a front plate, bearings carried thereby, an angular clamping member pivotally mounted in said bearings, said clamping member having a clamping edge coacting with the rear surface of said front plate, said clamping members having slots therein adapted to receive the upturned free ends of said strap, after the latter has been adjusted and locked, thereby to conceal the same JULIA. N. HUI/PE. 

